Chapter 632: Curious

They continued travelling for another hour or so before the world around them began to change.

The sea remained vast and seemingly endless, but the bright sky gradually started to darken ahead.

At first, Elion thought it was merely a storm forming in the distance.

Then he saw the gargantuan dark entrance hanging over the ocean. There was absolutely no mistaking what it was.

The Legacy World entrance.

The phenomena surrounding it weren’t here the last time he had been here; perhaps it was only a sign that it was finally ready.

And indeed, the sight of it was magnificent.

Even from far away, it dominated the horizon like a wound torn directly through the world itself. Its interior was impossibly dark, far darker than any ordinary shadow, almost like a deep void, while violent arcs of lightning constantly crackled along its tenebrous edges.

It looked exactly like what it was: A portal.

Occasionally, the darkness within twisted just enough for fleeting glimpses of what lay beyond to become visible.

The flash of unfamiliar land.

Then the image would vanish back into the eerie depths before Elion could make out anything more.

The portal’s very presence seemed to affect the surrounding environment.

Dark clouds had gathered across the general area despite the relatively clear skies they had travelled beneath only a short while ago, while the sea below looked darker beneath their shadow.

More noticeably, however, was the mana.

Elion could feel that it was much purer and denser in this area, even though such a thing shouldn’t have been possible.

Every breath seemed to carry more of it.

’Mana leaking from the Legacy World, perhaps?’

That was the most obvious explanation.

Yet despite his curiosity, Elion found himself strangely reluctant to keep staring directly into the portal.

The longer he looked into those dark depths, the stronger an inexplicable feeling began crawling across his skin.

Impending doom.

It wasn’t fear exactly. At least, Elion didn’t think it was, but some primal part of him seemed to be warning him not to keep staring.

He eventually looked away.

’Definitely feels different up close.’

The last time he had come this far out, they had observed the entrance from the comfort and safety of the Ark.

That had been completely different.

From inside the Ark, the portal had simply seemed fascinating, and it looked impressive. Dangerous, certainly, but still distant.

Standing on the deck of an ordinary vessel while slowly approaching it was another experience entirely.

Now he could actually feel its presence.

As expected, however, the entrance had not been left unattended.

A smaller vessel was stationed some distance away from the portal, and Elion could make out ten figures aboard it.

A bunch of powerful mages and warriors.

Even without appraising them individually, it was quite obvious that they were all forces to be reckoned with.

They had likely been stationed here ever since the entrance was discovered, maintaining constant watch over it while the various factions prepared their entrants.

The five massive vessels gradually slowed as they approached. Eventually, all of them came to a stop some distance from the portal.

Elion noticed movement aboard the ship travelling beside theirs. A familiar figure rose gracefully into the air before floating away from its deck.

’Hmm?’

Elion narrowed his eyes.

The woman flew toward the smaller vessel where the guards were stationed, most likely intending to speak with them before anyone was allowed closer to the entrance.

It only took Elion a moment to recognise her.

The same woman who had overseen the Royal Court proceedings concerning Duke Dawncrest.

Elion watched her silently for several seconds before something clicked in his mind.

’Wait...’ His brows slowly furrowed. ’If I remember correctly, her name was Wendy.’

That wasn’t particularly strange. Except there was another Wendy he remembered, from back inside the first Bloodline Trial World... Alexander’s wet nurse had also been named Wendy.

Elion stared at the woman floating above the ocean.

’It couldn’t actually be the same person... could it?’

At first, the idea sounded absurd. He hadn’t been able to see the face of Alexander’s wet nurse since she had been wearing a helm the first time he saw her, when he visited Haven after leaving the battlefield, but the more he thought about it, the less impossible it seemed.

From what Elion remembered of the Bloodline Trial, Alexander and Wendy had been quite close.

She had practically helped raise him.

If that relationship had somehow carried over into reality, then Wendy eventually becoming one of Alexander’s trusted aides would actually make perfect sense.

Elion’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’There’s certainly a good chance.’

Of course, he had no proof yet, but it was another strange thing that he had simply noticed.

Elion kept watching Wendy for a little while longer, but eventually forced the thought aside. There was no point trying to unravel that mystery right now.

Wendy descended toward the small vessel guarding the entrance and landed lightly on its deck.

From this distance, Elion could clearly see the ten guards straighten as she approached. A short conversation followed.

He couldn’t hear what they were saying over the violent winds and the constant rumbling of the portal, but judging by their expressions and the occasional nod, they were probably confirming that everything was still stable.

The entrance certainly didn’t look stable. Another bolt of dark violet lightning crawled across its enormous edge.

CRACKLE!

The sound rolled across the ocean like distant thunder, earning more than a few flinches from the people aboard the massive ships.

Elion didn’t blame them.

Even he had to admit that standing this close to the thing made the idea of voluntarily entering it seem slightly insane.

He leaned forward against the railing, taking a closer look. The darkness within the portal moved almost like smoke.

"That thing looks incredibly welcoming."

Elion glanced sideways.

Mayumi had walked up beside him, one hand resting on the pommel of her sword.

"Right?" Elion replied. "Makes you want to jump in immediately."

Mayumi gave him a flat look.

"No, I don’t think so."

Elion laughed softly.

Behind them, the rest of the Triad Alliance group had begun gathering closer together.

Marilyn was speaking quietly with Maya and Manfred, while Yaana had somehow managed to lose all sense of danger and was leaning so far over the railing that Uta was eventually forced to grab the back of her clothes and pull her away.

"Hey!"

"You were going to fall."

"I was looking at the fish!"

"There aren’t any fish anymore."

Yaana blinked.

Only then did she seem to notice that the sea creatures that had been following the ships earlier had completely disappeared.

Actually...

Elion noticed it too. The ocean around the portal was strangely empty. Even the seagulls that had accompanied them for much of the journey had vanished long ago.

That wasn’t particularly reassuring.

Elion’s gaze wandered to the other ships. The excitement and endless conversations had quieted considerably.

People were now staring at the entrance with expressions ranging from awe to nervousness. Even some of the older escorts appeared more serious.

This wasn’t merely some training ground.

Once they crossed that threshold, the rules changed.

Help would no longer be a few minutes away.

And considering how much time passed inside the Legacy World compared to the outside... A mistake could become very costly.

Wendy finally finished speaking with the guards.

One of the mages aboard the smaller vessel raised a long staff into the air. Mana gathered around its tip, forming a bright sphere that was then shot forward.

WHOOSH!

It exploded high above the ocean into a massive golden flare. Activity quickly erupted aboard all five ships.

"All entrants, prepare yourselves!" The amplified voice of one of the royal delegates rolled across the water. "Entry will begin shortly!"

People started moving.

Elion straightened.

Mayumi breathed out slowly beside him.

"Well." She smiled faintly. "Looks like we’re finally doing this." She seemed very excited.

"Seems so."

Elion rested one hand on Kurogoroshi’s hilt, and the sword gave a faint hum beneath his palm.

’I see you’re happy.’

Kurogoroshi hummed again.

Elion’s lips curled slightly. He was also excited. He could already tell this trip was going to be interesting.

Another amplified voice suddenly echoed from the front of the ship.

"Entrants belonging to Grimholt Academy and the Triad Alliance, assemble on the forward deck!"

He was kind of curious to see how they would be entering, since the entrance was several metres above the water. Surely, they did not intend to throw everyone one by one.

’And how does this work exactly? Do we just... Step into it?’

It certainly didn’t look safe, with the violent turbulence around the gargantuan portal.

He looked back and saw Mayumi waving at him.

"Come on!"

He pushed away from the railing and followed after her.

Before following the others, however, Elion glanced once more toward the neighbouring ships.

He had noticed quite a few pairs of eyes boring into him for some time now, though there had been no malice behind any of those gazes, so he had mostly paid them no mind.

Although he hadn’t shown it outwardly, Elion had been keeping an eye on them as well, using the World Eye’s Infinite Perspective ability to observe them without openly turning his attention their way.

’But damn... what a beauty!’

The veiled woman dressed in flowing white robes had naturally caught his attention.

Not only because of her beauty and rather excessively voluptuous assets, but because of her strength as well.

Her layered robes seemed to have been fashioned with the intent to also somewhat cover up her sinful body, but it was doing quite a poor job of that, though it did seem like no one dared stare at her for too long, lest they incur divine punishment.

The woman escorting her was also quite a sight for sore eyes, though it was a shame that most of her facial features were hidden beneath a brilliant helm, and her curvy body beneath a full set of armour.

It was when Elion casually checked her status that his eyes narrowed slightly.

’Hmm?’

She was a Sage Mage.

Yet the strength she was currently displaying had somehow been suppressed all the way down to the level of a High Mage.

Elion studied her for another moment.

’Curious...’